Each year, the organisation takes care to choose designers with various specialisations and who are at different stages of their careers. This way, the selection is a good representation of what is going on in the capital of Europe, both conceptually (in schools) as commercially (in stores). For 2011, the professional jury chose architect Benoît Deneufbourg, architect-designer Julie De Smedt, product designer Julien Renault and industrial designers Corentin Dombrecht and Vanessa Hordies.

These fantastic five have a busy year ahead of them, filled with international experiences. First they will be invited to present their work at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in February, and at the Milan Salone Internazionale del Mobile in April. These fairs are among the most influential European design industry events, and thus an excellent platform. Later this year, during Design September, the group will partake in an event called Designers towards Business: a meeting between designers and manufacturers, which will hopefully lead to an expansion of their professional network. Finally, in December, the five are travelling to China for Business Week Hong Kong to discover an entirely new and exciting market.

No reason to grab for your passport if you want to see the selection for 2011. Traditionally the exposition has one final stop in Designed in Brussels' own gallery, early on in the following year.

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